Patriots Beat: Ridley ready to rebound after a rough 2013

When asked on Wednesday if his up-and-down 2013 season will make him stronger for 2014, Patriots running back Stevan Ridley did not hesitate. "One-hundred percent," Ridley said.

By Tim Whelan Jr.Daily News staff

FOXBORO — When asked on Wednesday if his up-and-down 2013 season will make him stronger for 2014, Patriots running back Stevan Ridley did not hesitate.

"One-hundred percent," Ridley said. "I’ve learned a lot over the four years. What I have learned is you have to leave the past in the past. This year is a new year, a new opportunity. And I always said a little bit of adversity never hurts anybody."

After running for 1,263 yards in 2012, the fourth-best total in franchise history, football fortune did not smile on Ridley in 2013.

One image, in particular, left a lasting imprint.

On Dec. 1, 2013, the Patriots were playing a game five hours from Ridley’s hometown of Natchez, Mississippi. The trip to Houston to face the Texans was the closest to his hometown the team had gone in his short pro career, an easy distance for any friends and family who wanted to see the former LSU star carry the ball.

Ridley carried a football, alright, but he was in team-issued clothing and a baseball hat. He was inactive, and that came on the heels of a comeback win over the Broncos in which Ridley played mostly spectator. After three carries early on a frigid Nov. 24 afternoon, Ridley was popped on the fourth carry. The football fell to the turf, and linebacker Von Miller returned Ridley’s fumble 60 yards for a score just five minutes into the crucial meeting with Denver. Ridley did not see the field for the rest of the day.

A healthy Ridley, the NFL’s seventh-leading rusher the year before, went nearly eight quarters without playing. He ran for just 266 yards and two TDs over the final six contests, including two playoff games. LeGarrette Blount, meanwhile, became a cult hero before heading to Pittsburgh in free agency. Ridley finished with one more yard than Blount in the regular season (773-772) and the same number of TDs (7).

Quarterback Tom Brady is so often addressing matters pertaining to his offensive line, or his "weapons," the men who will receive his passes in this incredibly aerial NFL era.

Ridley is not used in the passing game as much as fellow running back Shane Vereen, for example. But TB12 feels that Ridley’s resurgence is a crucial piece to this year’s team. He has handed Ridley the ball, including the postseason, 611 times over the last three seasons.

"I’ve got a really high level of confidence in certainly Stevan, and in all the backs," Brady said on Wednesday. "Stevan has done a great job. He’s a great guy. I love being a teammate of his. We’ve got a great relationship. He’s battled through some tough times, which I think have made him tougher.

"He needs to go out there and have a great year. That’s what the expectations are. He’s got to go out there and do what he’s capable of."

The stakes are high for this franchise as it tries to win its first Super Bowl in 10 years, but a franchise is nothing more than the sum of its parts. And one of the key cogs is entering Year 4, often a make-or-break campaign at a position that turns over at among the league’s highest rates.

It is no secret that the running back as an entity has been devalued at a remarkable rate, thus lending to the expendability of those who play it. Ridley’s yardage totals went from 441 as a rookie (5.1 yards per carry) to 1,263 in year two (4.4 ypc) down to 773 in year three (4.3 ypc). But there are also the 11 fumbles, nine in the regular season.

"There's nothing that correlates more to winning and losing than turnovers," Bill Belichick said on Aug. 16, the day after Ridley had a fumble in a preseason game against the Eagles overturned. "So that's always a high priority for us."

Ridley is a free agent after this year, the final year of the relatively modest four-year, $2,953,500 rookie contract he signed after being a third-round pick in 2011. It is make or break time, for him and for the team.

"What I strive to do every day is try to be the best running back that I can be to help us be productive, to help us win games," Ridley said. "That doesn’t mean I’m going to be perfect and that I’m going to be out there making a bunch of errors, but it does mean that I have every day to come out here and try to be better than I was the day before. And that’s all that I can do.

"So, this year we are off to a fresh start in Miami week one and that’s how I’m taking it. I'm going out there, trying to light it up to be the best that I can be to help my teammates, to help the coaches and everybody around us."

The Patriots’ options in the backfield are myriad, with Shane Vereen, Brandon Bolden, rookie James White, and fullback James Develin also vying for touches.

Sunday is opening day, Ridley’s chance to write a more palatable chapter.

"I don’t think the emotions get much higher, other than the Super Bowl, than Week 1," Ridley said.

The opportunity is there for the taking. Now Ridley has to hold onto it.

Tim Whelan Jr. can be reached at 508-626-4402 or twhelan@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @thattimwhelan.

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